Search form

California Seventh Day of the Week Overtime Payment Investigation

If you live in California, it’s worth taking a moment to see if you’re being properly compensated for your work.

California’s labor laws require one day’s rest in each workweek. If an employee works on the seventh day, the laws require that the employee be paid at a time-and-a-half rate for the first eight hours of that day. Some employers are simply not bothering to comply with this law, and we’re currently investigating the possibility of filing class actions against them.

However, the law is a little more complicated than it looks on the surface. For example, some positions are exempt from this law, including administrative, professional, or executive positions which are exempt from overtime rules in general. Also, certain job positions are not covered. Computer software employees, doctors, and surgeons are also exempt from these rules.

Also, the period to be considered is not simply any seven-day period but the employee’s regular workweek—and the employer defines the workweek, as long as it is the same every week. For example, if your employer says your workweek is Sunday to Saturday, you could be required to work Monday through Saturday one week, then Sunday through Friday the next. This would give you twelve workdays in a row, but it would not require “seventh day” overtime pay, because each of the two workweeks allows you a day off.

In addition, in California, your employer can’t force or coerce you to work on the seventh day. For example, they can’t threaten to fire you if you won’t work that seventh day. They are, however, free to seduce you into it with overtime pay and promises of favorable treatment.

If you live and work in California and you’ve been working seven days a week, fill out the form on this page to have a legal expert see if your employer owes you additional wages. It’s free, and you’ll never be forced to file a suit if you don’t want to.